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I came across this passage in War and Peace and it seemed to me to have a lot to do with AiKiDo (and, incidentally, with my understanding of Zen). I thought I'd share it with everyone. Prince Andrei Bulkonsky has been inspired by General Kutuzov, the commander-in-chief, and is thinking about what makes Kutuzov such a great general:

"'He will put forward nothing of his own. He will devise nothing, understake nothing,' thought Prince Andrei, 'but he will listen to everything, remember everything, put everything in its proper place, and will neither stand in the way of anything beneficial nor accede to anything detrimental. He understands that there is something stronger and more important than his own will -- the inevitable course of events; he can see them and grasp their significance, and perceiving that significance, can refrain from taking a hand in them or from pursuing a personal wish directed to something else."

Thus the confusion of common men who are the bearers of such burden performing the menial tasks of drudgery, unable to see beyond their present task, the fate of all who hang in the balance of their support or nonsupport in accomplishing even the most menial of tasks.

The veil may be lifted as the general apprises his troops of what to do and where to go, but the poor slob who is bleeding and dieing knows no meaning to life.

Yes, there is a larger cognizant view to be appreciated and understood, but how to empower the lowly foot soldier to such heights of knowledge and inspiration is another matter entirely.

Wow. That's a strong claim. I'm not sure I know very much about either Zen or AiKiDo, but it's rare to come across two things that have nothing at all to do with each other. Can you explain what you mean?

Im not sure if circunstances, causes, effects, consecuences. But I do there are so bigger interactuating forces, so the wise general can feel them on the show, something like "for all that is above my hands you take care". Do you know what an ofrend is? See is not fatalistic.

the inevitable course of events" then what would we need generals for? on this size you are talking, presidents, generals are just puppets of the something bigger above.

It turns out, just for the record, that Tolstoy was interested in Buddhism and that this was not unusual for Russians of his generation. He has another character, a little later in the book, who is a real Buddha. It's interesting to sort of bump into.